流星の絆 Ryusei No KizunaStarring: Ninomiya Kazunari, Nishikido Ryo, Erika TodaTBS, Friday, 10PMSummaryThe three will be siblings. Nino's the eldest, Ryo the second and Erika the youngest. When they were young, they went to watch a meteor shower. While they were away from home, their parents were murdered. After experiencing the harshness of surviving without their parents, they grew up to con people of their money. Also, they found their parents' murderer and decided to take revenge.

Akiyama Kanon (Maki Horikita) had a turbulent childhood ever since the murder of their parents with her brother charged as the murderer. This is a story of a young woman who, despite undergoing many hardships, still faces life with exuberance and determination while finding love along the way.

I recommend up to about episode. It gets repetitive after that, offers nothing new of substance (mainly shock) and loses it's way. If it followed their pasts more and had a more satisfying ending, I'd recommend it more. However, the song does grow on you.

Note: This was the first Japanese show I watched entirely in Japanese (no English subs). So it does have a soft spot in my heart. Plus, it was a trip to see "Nodame" as a completely non-Nodame character.

You're missing a LOT if you don't watch atleast some Historical drama's. So far my favorites are:1.Musashi(2003) The best jdrama I have ever seen...2.Fuurin Kazan(2007)3.Shinsenhumi (2004?) Still trying to watch this one

Other types:Gonzo(2008) police/detective dramaAttention Please (2007 I believe) about a rock girl wanting to be a cabin attendantGokusen 1-2 and 3 - A series about a female teacher who needs to teach a class full of delinquentsAce o Narae (2003) About a girl wanting to be a tennis starZettai Kareshi (2008) About a robot male

Way too much to sum up at this moment...

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(This topic is quite dated but not that much to open a new one, in my opinion.)I started watching jdrama because I was told the language is closer to everyday life than in anime, and I quickly got hooked up!The first one I watched was change about a elementary school teacher turning politician and unexpectedly becoming Prime Minister. I liked it -- and it was the first time I got a feeling of how to use 失礼します Then I watched 雨と夢のあとに. It's about the ghost of a single father who doesn't want to leave his daughter alone. It's quite moving, even though a couple of scenes felt to me a bit stretched.Now I started orange days. Yesterday I watched the first episode and ... loved it! There are a lot of writing to read even though it's quite tough to follow both the English subtitles and the Japanese ones, oh yes it's about a deaf violinist so the Japanese subtitles are for when she speaks using sign language.

Wow, nobody has mentioned Orange Days, one of the most well-casted, well-written, and overall well-done Japanese Dramas. Takes place at a University, shows the developing chemistry between a male student(Tsumabuki Satoshi) and a deaf female student(Shibasaki Kou). And man, is there chemistry(they even married in real life afterward). Also, the side stories and sub-characters are some of the most well-done I've seen.

Recently, I was impressed with Ryusei no Kizuna and Last Friends, both definitely in the "Drama" genre, although Ryusei no Kizuna had some pretty hilarious scenes.

Hana Yori DangoI tried watching this show twice and couldn't get past the first half of the first episode... but when I finally made it past that, I watched both series and now consider it one of my favorites. It really is a great series once you get into it. Give it a chance! I'm glad I did.

Nodame CantabileReally made me want to pick up my sister's violins and start learning. Excellent series for the music alone... and the occasional humor that made me burst out laughing.

Orange DaysThis made me want to learn sign language. Yet another awesome soundtrack and a great show.

Ruri no ShimaLike Dr.Koto Shinryoujo, this is set in the southern islands and really makes me feel envious of the kind of close knit community portrayed on the absolutely beautiful island.

Teru Teru AshitaMy first j-dorama. A little odd plot-wise, but it makes up for it.

Yasashii JikanOne of the first j-doramas I watched and still one of my absolute favorites. The soundtrack to this is still my favorite to this day. The atmosphere of this has made me unable to ever forget Hokkaidou, and I'd love to visit the cafe in the forest used in the show someday.